Arsinoë of Cyprus
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In Greek mythology Arsinoë (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη, romanized: Arsinóē, lit. 'elevated-minded' pronounced [arsinóɛː]) is a Cypriot princess who was punished by being turned into stone at the hand of the goddess of love Aphrodite for turning down a potential suitor named Arceophon.[1] Arsinoë and her petrification tale serve as a doublet for the also Cypriot and more well-known story of Iphis and Anaxarete which follows the same pattern. Her tale is only preserved in the writings of Antoninus Liberalis, a little-known author of the Roman imperial era.
Mythology
[edit]Princess Arsinoë was the daughter of King Nicocreon of Salamis, which was also known by the name Arsinoë (modern Famagusta),[2] from the island of Cyprus, a descendant of Teucer, by his unnamed wife. A wealthy Phoenician-descended man called Arceophon fell in love with her and tried to woo her promising many gifts, but Nicocreon refused to give his daughter's hand in marriage to him due to his Phoenician origin.[3] The lovestruck Arceophon would then visit Arsinoë's house at night, trying to win her heart in vain for she spurned him. He even tried to bribe Arsinoë's wetnurse so that she would arrange a meeting between the two, but when Arsinoë found out she informed her parents and they kicked out the nurse after cutting off her tongue, her nose and her fingers.[4][5] In great despair Arceophon killed himself. During his funeral, Arsinoë peeped out of the window to get a glimpse, and so Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, turned the girl into stone.[6][7]
Culture
[edit]This story seems to be a variant of the Cypriot tale of Iphis and Anaxarete, known thanks to its inclusion in Ovid's Metamorphoses.[8][9][10] The story is also referenced by Plutarch, who compares it with the little-known tales of Euxynthetus and Leucomantis and the Cretan Gorgo.[11]
In Greek metamorphosis myths, the objects humans are transformed into usually reflect some quality or feature of the original person, but Arsinoë is in fact a rare case of petrification actually indicating the cold-heartedness and cruelty of the human the stone was originally.[12]
The king in the story, Nicocreon, was a real king of Cyprus who lived during the time of Alexander the Great, giving the story a historical setting.[10]
Legacy
[edit]In Daphnis et Alcimadure, a seventeenth-century fable by Jean de La Fontaine based on classical mythology and particularily Theocritus' works, the young shepherd Daphnis falls in love with Alcimadure who rejects him.[13] He dies, but Alcimadure sheds no tears and instead continues to insult Eros the god of love, until his statue that she dances around topples and crushes her to death.[14]
See also
[edit]
Other heroes in Greek mythology who were petrified by the gods:
References
[edit]- ^ Harder, Ruth Elizabeth (2006). "Arsinoe". In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). Brill's New Pauly. Translated by Christine F. Salazar. Zurich: Brill Reference Online. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e201430. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ "ARSINOE Cyprus". The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Antoninus Liberalis, 39
- ^ Celoria 1992, p. 98.
- ^ Metta, Demetra. "Μορφές και Θέματα της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Μυθολογίας: Αρσινόη" [Figures and Themes of Ancient Greek Mythology: Arsinoë]. www.greek-language.gr (in Greek). Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ Wright, M. Rosemary. "A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations". mythandreligion.upatras.gr. University of Patras. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ Murray & Klapp 2005, p. 94.
- ^ Bell 1991, s.v. Arsinoe (5).
- ^ Smith 1873, s.v. Anaxarete 1, Arceophon 1.
- ^ a b Forbes Irving 1990, p. 285.
- ^ Plutarch, Moralia 766d
- ^ Forbes Irving 1990, p. 143.
- ^ Runyon 2000, pp. 176-77.
- ^ "Daphnis et Alcimadure". www.la-fontaine-ch-thierry.net (in French). Retrieved February 1, 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]- Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Bell, Robert E. (1991). Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary. ABC-Clio. ISBN 9780874365818.
- Celoria, Francis (1992). The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with Commentary. Routledge. ISBN 9780415068963.
- Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990). Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814730-9.
- Murray, Alexander Stuart; Klapp, William H. (2005). Handbook of World Mythology. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-44374-4.
- Plutarch, Moralia, Volume IX: Table-Talk, Books 7-9. Dialogue on Love. Translated by Edwin L. Minar, F. H. Sandbach, W. C. Helmbold. Loeb Classical Library 425. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961.
- Runyon, Randolph (2000). In La Fontaine's Labyrinth: A Thread Through the Fables. Charlottesville, VI: Rookwood Press. ISBN 1-886365-16-4.
- Smith, William (1873). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: J. Murray. Online version at perseus.tufts library.
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